It's Because I Care
by RynUhara
Summary: It felt like he was always breathing down her back to just give in and call herself weak. But that's not what he was wanting her to do at all! He was worried, but she was too hard-headed to see that he was only doing what he did because he honestly cared. (Shinkane)


Akane woke up to the smell of a fully cooked breakfast. she sat up in bed and stretched her arms. Her whole body was so sore. She felt as if she would never get used to it. Waking up feeling like she did.

"And what do you think you're doing?" A gruff Voice asked as a strong arm pulled her back down.

"Is it such a crime for me to go to the bathroom?" She complained as he pulled her against his bare chest.

"Aren't you the inspector in this bed?" He asked teasingly with a smirk. "You should know that answer."

"Please Shinya." Akane groaned. "Your kid is crushing my bladder."

"Fine, fine." He sighed, letting her go. "He watched her lock herself in the bathroom from his position on her bed.

"Good morning, mister Kogami!" Candy the jellyfish sang cheerfully, dancing around his head.

"Morning." He greeted as he sat up. "Could you brew me up some coffee?"

"Not a problem!" She said happily. "Would you like to watch the news?"

"Nah. I'll leave that kind of thing to Akane." He answered, putting on a fresh t-shirt. "Is breakfast ready?"

"Yes sir!" She answered, appearing in the kitchen as Kogami entered.

"What's our schedule for today?" Akane asked as she entered the kitchen behind him.

"From 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM you and mister Kogami will be in the office. You should leave the office at approximately 2:45 to make it on time to your appointment with Dr. Okumura at 3:00 PM. As of today, you're approximately 23 weeks along in your pregnancy! Once your appointment is over, your day is open."

"23 weeks already, huh?" Kogami Took a drink of his coffee while he gazed at Akane's stomach. She was only showing slightly at this point, but there is no hiding the fact that there was the baby in there. Their baby.

"You know, if you take a picture it will last so much longer." Akane stated as she took her vitamins.

"Why won't you stay behind and do desk work at the office?" Kogami suddenly asked. "Gino and Mika are capable of handling things on the field."

"Not this again." Akane groaned. "I'm still able to do field work, Ko-"

He shot her a look before she could finish her sentence.

"Shinya." She sighed. Using his first name was still a lot to get used to. "I'm still your superior, need I remind you. I won't stop going out there until Ginoza or the Chief tells me otherwise."

Kogami glared at the small inspector in front of him.

"Quit looking at me like that." Akane pleaded.

"This is my kid, too." He growled as he walked past her.

"Where are you going?"

"To get ready for work, Inspector." He spat out her title like venom to make sure that she knew where he stood on the matter.

Akane flinched when the bathroom door slammed shut. She hoped he wouldn't be angry with her for long.

—-

"He does have a point." Karanomori said as she exhaled a puff of smoke. "He did help make the kid growing inside of you."

"But it doesn't hinder my investigation work!" Akane insisted. "I have never felt better."

"Smell this." Kunizuka held out her lunch to Akane's face.

When the smell of fish and rosemary hit the inspector's nose, she began to gag and ran to the nearest trash bin to empty the contents of her stomach.

Once she was done, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and glared over her shoulder at the enforcer that caused her to lose her own lunch. Shion was laughing like a maniac, while Kunizuka calmly put the lid back on the plastic container.

"Was that supposed to prove a point?"

"If you can't handle the smell of fish, how do you expect to deal with the smell of a rotting corpse?" Karanomori asked, taking another drag off of her cigarette.

"Well, I-"

"Inspector Tsunemori, is this really just about getting back at Kogami?"

"Why would you suggest that?"

"Because you try to make a stronger case every time you two argue about it." The analyst noted as she put out her cigarette.

Akane sighed. "Maybe you're right. It just gets so frustrating sometimes. Almost as if he's trying to control the way I'm handling things."

"Maybe he's just trying to show you how much he loves you." Yayoi suggested.

"I still think that you need to talk to him yourself." Karanomori said as she messed with her tablet.

"Yeah… You're right."

Akane stood up straight and left the room. It was time to give in and talk to her subordinate.

—-

"I'm telling you, Ginoza, you have to put her on office duty." Kogami pleaded with his former partner. "She won't listen to reason."

"I'm not going to listen to what an enforcer has to say on how I run my division. If Inspector Tsunemori says she is capable of going out in the field, she will go. Until I see that she needs to be put on desk duty, I will not move on the matter."

"Please Ginoza!" Kogami slammed his fist on the doorframe, blocking his superior from leaving.

"I have nothing else to say on the matter. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a meeting with the Chief." Ginoza slipped past Kogami, leaving him behind, his blood boiling with rage.

"Trouble in paradise?" Enforcer Masaoka asked from his desk.

"It's nothing." Kogami sighed, sinking down in Akane's chair. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked up at the older enforcer with a defeated smile. "That woman is making me go slowly insane."

"Ah." He nodded. "I remember those days."

"Bet your woman wasn't one like mine is." The younger enforcer leaned back in the chair he was in and stared thoughtfully at the ceiling.

"You got me there." Masaoka chuckled. "The little missy sure is a stubborn one."

"She doesn't see the kind of danger she is putting not only herself in, but the baby too." Kogami groaned. "Not only that, but it's a distraction having to keep her in sight at all times while we're working in the field."

"Better not let her hear you say that." Kagari said as he entered the room. He slapped Kogami on the shoulder as he walked past him to his desk.

"She knows how I feel about her working in the field. It's not like it's a big secret."

"Well, you're going to see the doctor today, ain't cha?" Masaoka asked. "Why don't you just get him to talk some sense into her?"

"He won't listen to me." Kogami rolled his eyes. "Something about me being a latent criminal gives him a bad taste, I guess. It takes all I have to act civil while we're in the guy's office."

"Just relax." Kagari said. "You got what? Four months left? Can't be that bad."

"Oh, trust me." Kogami sighed. "It's that bad."

"You should try talking to the little missy again." Masaoka suggested. "But make her feel like it was her idea to stay behind at the station."

"I can do that?"

"It's not that hard if you know the right words to say."

"She's so sharp, I don't think it would work."

"Then be straight forward with her." Kagari said. "Tell her that you're going to withhold your goods until she does what you asked her to do."

"I am not going to do that!" Kogami shot a glare at the orange haired enforcer.

"Just a suggestion." He said, sinking low in his chair.

"Ugh. Forget this." Kogami said, standing up and started to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"To use the can." Kogami answered as he raised his hand in farewell.

But in reality, his inspector was his main objective.

—-

Kogami was walking towards Shion's office when he caught Akane going in the opposite direction.

"Hey, can we talk?" The inspector asked.

"Yeah." Kogami nodded. "I was about to ask you the same thing."

They both walked to the break room, Kogami went to the coffee machine and got himself a drink, and made a hot water with lemon for Akane.

"Thank you." She said, taking the paper cup from him.

They sat across from each other quietly.

"Kogami." Akane hesitantly broke the silence. "I-"

"No, let me go first." He interrupted, as he put his cup to the side and gently took Akane's hand under the table. They had agreed that PDA was not appropriate for the workplace.

"I'm sorry." Both of them said at once.

"Why would you be sorry?" Kogami asked. "I was the one being an ass about you working in the field."

"Because, Kogami." Akane said, squeezing his hand affectionately. "I didn't consider how you felt about all of this. You are right. This baby I'm carrying is yours, too."

"I'm just… Trying to look out for you, Inspector." He said with a warm look in his eyes.

The way he said those words made Akane know what he really wished to say in that moment.

'It's because I love you both so much.'

—-

"And how are you doing today, Inspector?" Dr. Okumura asked once he finished his pelvic and abdominal scan on his patient.

"Just a little heartburn is all, but I'm fine."

"Well, it seems that the little one is progressing normally." The older man smiled. "Hearing should be fully developed around the end of this next week, so I suggest that you read aloud and put music on to stimulate brain activity."

"I'll keep that in mind." Akane said with a grin.

"As for work." The doctor sat back in his chair and looked seriously at Akane after giving Kogami a glance. "Are you still on full duty?"

"… Yes." Akane hesitantly answered, knowing where this was going.

"I am going to be contacting your chief with an order for you to be switched over to desk work."

"Okay." The inspector sighed, looking down at her lap in defeat.

Kogami put his hand on her shoulder, letting her know that she had his support.

On the inside, he felt relief in knowing Akane was going to be kept away from the danger of the streets.

They were on their way back to Akane's apartment when they passed by a small shop. Kogami began to go inside, but Akane pulled him back.

"We can just order things on the net, we don't need to go in here."

"No, just wait here." He said, going inside and leaving her at the door.

He came out a few moments later, holding a bag. Akane tried to peek in it, but Kogami kept her from looking.

Once they got home and had their dinner, they laid on the sofa to wind down for the evening. Kogami was reading a book while Akane was shopping on her tablet.

"Hey, what did you get in that shop earlier?" Akane asked, gesturing to the sack that was sitting on the coffee table.

Kogami sat up and put the bag on Akane's lap.

She opened it and took out a soft pink blanket with the name Ayaka embroidered on the bottom. Akane ran her fingers slowly over the purple letters as she stared at it in awe.

"How did you-"

"The old lady that runs that shop was Sasayama's grandmother. Ginoza took me there so I could ask her to make it when we had found out what the sex was." He explained. "It's handmade. I wanted her to know what that felt like so that she will settle for nothing less in the future."

"Oh, Shinya." Akane sniffed as she hugged him.

"It's the least I can do as her father." He smiled to himself. "I'm already a screw up because of my crime coefficient."

"No, I think you're just right for our little family!" Akane insisted.

"Oh?" Kogami raised his eyebrow.

"Because after all… We love you, too."


End file.
